Table of Contents
Solid State Technology
Year 2003
Issue 7
 | NEWS
Fda Drafts Kinder Gentle
FDA drafts kinder, gentler record-keeping guidelines
When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yanked its proposed guidance on electronic record keeping, many thought their prayers had been answered.
Ductile Displays Yield F
Ductile displays yield flexible photolithography
What sounds like an all too familiar paperboy problem is actually the concept behind E Ink. Corp.'s flexible electronic-ink display screen, a giant step toward changing the way the world receives information and even how substrates are fabricated.
West 03 To Spotlight Cle
West '03 to spotlight
It's back to the basics for the CleanRooms West 2003 conference tracks, but that's not to say there's nothing new about the conference and exhibition that will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, Sept. 22-24.
Rising Fab Costs Likely
Rising fab costs likely to drive global R&D collaboration
With semiconductor fab costs increasing 15 percent a year and R&D expenses rising faster than 20 percent a year, Sematech President and CEO Michael Polcari predicts increasing globalization of research and development, with greater cooperation among research organizations and consortia over the next few years.
Particles
Particles
Forecasts Call For Modes
Forecasts call for modest growth in chip sales
As chip and microelectronics industry organizations scale back forecasts for industries already struggling to reduce costs and boost sales, Asia—China specifically—is continually being selected as the land of manufacturing opportunity, much to the chagrin of a U.S. Senator and presidential candidate.
Sars Presents Containmen
SARS presents containment, garment conundrum
Nurses caring for SARS patients here want garments ranging from facemasks to full-body "moon suits" at their disposal throughout all shifts, now that even well-protected hospital workers are still being infected with the deadly respiratory virus.
Competition For Biotech
Competition for biotech manufacturing becomes heated
From California to North Carolina and north through Pennsylvania and Massachussetts, economic development folks have gold in their eyes when the topic turns to biotechnology—and with good reason.
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DEPARTMENTS
Viewpoint
Confirming those gut instincts
No matter how skeptical you are about industry forecasts, the batch that hit the wires this past month has firmly solidified the gut instincts that many electronics manufacturing trend-watchers have had for a couple years.
Letters
Raise floor when needed
Michael Kopp (CleanRooms, May, 2003, pg. 34) mentions microelectronics and nanotechnology ISO Class 6 and cleaner rooms "usually require ceiling diffusers, and perforated floors above a return plenum space." This is usually called raised floors and is an excellent way to achieve true laminar flow across a room; however, it's not the usual way to return air unless it is in an ISO Class 4 or cleaner room.
Inventors Corner
Inventor's Corner
Unfiltered
SEMI S14: A fire-risk management tool for end users, too
As a consultant conducting SEMI S14 fire risk assessments since its introduction in 2000, readers would expect me to actively promote the application of fire risk assessment to semiconductor equipment manufacturers.
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COLUMNS
Setting The Standard
Gas leak testing: balancing time and money with accuracy
Over the past two months, we considered the subject of leaks in high-purity gas systems.
Electronics
A modest proposal: How about a cleanroom restroom?
Last month, I broached a potentially touchy subject of "cleanroom cystitis," or the documented higher incidence of urinary tract infections (UTI) among cleanroom workers compared to that of non-cleanroom workers at a semiconductor facility.1
Life Sciences
Pharma regulation: The more things change, the more they stay the same
Corporations are in a constant state of change, moving from one approach of managing business to another. Within regulated industries, such as pharmaceutical, the relationships between regulators and the companies they regulate are a classic example of the old saying, "the more things change, the more they stay the same."
On The Beat
Act locally, move to China?
There's something to be said for thinking globally by acting locally, but it seems the majority of chip and microelectronics manufacturers in the United States have misunderstood this fashionable phrase.
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FEATURES
Guidelines To Protect Th
Guidelines to protect the value your cleanroom creates
In the mid-1990s, several semiconductor companies had fire losses totaling nearly $750 million. As a result, both the semiconductor industry and insurance companies realized the need to properly manage fire risk in this critical industry.
Special Report
Holistic ESD management
Like the actual phenomena of electrostatic discharge (ESD), the latest set of control tools is largely invisible.
Wipe Dry Wipe Clean New
Wipe dry, wipe clean: New wiper assessment tests emerge
While wipers and other consumable products are critical to the maintenance and function of an effective cleanroom environment, these products have the potential to contaminate the very environment they're meant to protect.
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PRODUCTS
New Products.html
New Products
Product Spotlight
Wafer Handlers
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